Disney Marathon Weekend Trip Report: Half Marathon and Hollywood Studios (Again)
Note: This trip report is divided into seven parts. This post is part four of my trip report visiting Walt Disney World for the 2025 Dopey Challenge at RunDisney Marathon Weekend.
- Mears & Arrival
- Bib Pick-up & Hollywood Studios
- 5K & Epcot
- 10K & Lightning Lane Multipass
- Half Marathon & Hollywood Studios (Again)
- The Big Race, Animal Kingdom, & Ohana Noodles
- Check-out & One More Day of Park Hopping
The early morning temperatures on Thursday and Friday were around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. For the half marathon, the temperature is in the low 60s Fahrenheit. Rain is in the forecast during the pre-race activities, so I added a few ponchos to my Gear bag this morning. I also slept for 4 hours last night, almost double the sleep from the night before. Small victories, I guess.
After my usual race morning of waking up at 1:30 a.m. and drinking a few cups of coffee, I walked out of my hotel at 3:30 a.m. I left my winter gear in the room, as I never wear thermal clothes when the temperatures are in the 60s. I thought I would be fine when I walked outside and onto the bus. But it started raining when I stepped off the bus and arrived at Epcot. The rain and wind made the conditions much worse than at the hotel.
Unfortunately, the worsening weather made me regret what I had brought in my Gear bag. I made a critical error by neglecting to pack an additional hoodie for today's race. I packed one hoodie for after the race but did not pack one to wear at the start line. With the temperature in the 60s, my tired brain felt I would be fine in a short-sleeved running shirt, and since the hoodie was cotton, there was a high probability it would get wet due to sweat and rain if I wore it during the race.
A second critical error was failing to bring a mylar blanket from one of the previous races. It would have helped block the wind and keep heat near my body. Instead, all I had before the race was a poncho.
The bad weather also caused some issues with the gear bag drop-off. Rain caused the stickers to not stick to the bag, and many stickers lost their adhesive because the support team did not cover them before using them. After several attempts, I successfully attached a sticker to my bag and took a photo of the number with my phone. All of this took time, and it was after 4:30 a.m. when I left the gear check area. Since I was in Corral A, my corral closed at 4:45 a.m. I had to make my way to the starting line quickly before it closed.
The rain stopped as the race started but continued drizzling for parts of the race. I felt better during this race than yesterday, but the previous races and park days were beginning to take their toll on my body. The half marathon is the weekend's first race through the Magic Kingdom. One of the main highlights is running down Main Street, USA, and seeing the castle lit up. The crowd is supportive, and the castle looks fantastic. I went from an 8:00-8:30 pace for the first 5.5 miles to a 10:30 pace while in Magic Kingdom. The increase in pace was due to the photo opportunities, looking around, and taking it all in.
While running through Magic Kingdom is one of the main highlights of the weekend, this course was my least favorite. While the marathon is long enough to cover all four parks, the half marathon is an up-and-back from Epcot to Magic Kingdom. Most of the course was on empty roads, and the time spent in the parks was insignificant. This course is a stark difference from half marathon races in Disneyland, where much of the race is also on roads outside the parks, but you spend significantly more miles inside the parks.
I finished the race around 7 a.m. and took the bus back to the hotel. My family and I agreed they would go to the parks before me to take advantage of early entry, as I knew I would not be ready in time. Our plan for Saturday was to return to Hollywood Studios. Even though we went to Hollywood Studios yesterday, we returned because I had already purchased lightning lanes for Hollywood Studios a week before my visit, and we didn't want to lose the choices we had already made.
While I ran, my wife also snagged a virtual queue boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy. The virtual queue at Epcot complicated the morning because we had lightning lanes for the Tower of Terror at 9 a.m., Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at 10 a.m., and Toy Story Mania from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. If the morning was perfect, I thought we could ride the Tower of Terror first, then take the Skyliner to Epcot and ride Guardians, as we had an early boarding group where I knew we would be allowed to ride when the park opened. Then, take the Skyliner back to Hollywood Studios to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster by 10:59 a.m.
Once I arrived at Hollywood Studios at 9 a.m., I had a different plan. I met my family at the Tower of Terror, but instead of using our lightning lane, we entered the standby line for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The wait time was short, and I deduced that riding now was the best alternative in case we were not back in time from Epcot. We then returned to the Tower of Terror and used our lightning lane.
I significantly underestimated how long it would take to get to the Guardians of the Galaxy ride from Hollywood Studios. It took 30-40 minutes to ride the Skyliner to Epcot and walk to the ride. Fortunately, the ride did not open immediately; when we arrived, they had just started letting virtual queue boarding groups in line. So, we were among the first people to ride that day, sometime around 10:45 a.m. or 11 a.m. I'm ecstatic to have ridden Rock 'n' Roller Coaster earlier because we missed our lightning lane window to ride Guardians.
We immediately returned to the Skyliner and rode it back to Hollywood Studios. The trek was another 30-40 minutes, and we had to walk to the back of the park for our last initial lightning lane, Toy Story Mania. We barely made it within our window.
After Toy Story Mania, my youngest son and I went to Ronto Roasters for lunch while the rest of my family went to Backlot Express. I wanted to try the Zuchi Wrap and thought this may be my last chance at Hollywood Studios. I needed to fuel better than I had been the previous couple of days, so I bought two. I forgot to take photos of my lunch, but this was my second favorite meal during the trip. I enjoyed both plant-based options at this location and the plant-based breakfast wrap at Disneyland and can easily recommend Ronto Roasters to all plant-based eaters.
After lunch, we had a lightning lane single pass for Rise of the Resistance and a reservation at Oga's Cantina. My youngest son is a huge Star Wars fan, and I thought he would enjoy the immersion of the cantina.
The immersive environment was impressive, but I wouldn't come here again. The drinks were costly, especially since none of us ordered an alcoholic beverage. We paid $9-10 for Powerade mixed with other juices. We sat in a booth, which was nice since most of the space was standing-room only. Other groups were also at our booth, but with only 45 minutes to visit before you must leave, we didn't have time to talk much to them.
After we left the cantina, I returned to the hotel. It was 3 p.m., and I had to get up early tomorrow because the marathon started at 4:30 a.m. I fell asleep as soon as I reached the room. While I slept, the family played putt-putt and visited Disney Springs.
My wife was kind enough to bring me a sandwich from Boardwalk Deli while I slept. I woke up and ate dinner but immediately went back to sleep because I needed to wake up early.
The big race is next. I'm excited to complete this challenge successfully.
- Total Steps for the day: 43,849 (138,168 total)
- Total Miles for the day: 24.22 (70.6 total)